14 January 2016. We had to be in Canada for two months after we returned from Turkey, Jordan, and Egypt to satisfy our provincial health coverage requirements. November and December in Canada. Brrrrr. So we knew we would want to go somewhere warm after that. Also we were due to stop, to not be travelling, to stay in one place for a while. Mexico seemed like an obvious choice. We’d been twice before and liked it, we speak a little Spanish, and at the rate we’d been spending we were looking for a place that wouldn’t break the budget (again).

I wanted to go back to La Manzanilla. We’d lived there for four months April through July in 2013 and I loved it. I loved it for many reasons. For walks along the long wide golden sand beach. For the beautiful casita we stayed in. For the daily walk into the village up over the hill in the countryside seeing all the brightly coloured birds and flowers and butterflies and getting some aerobic exercise at the same time. For the four-times-a-week yoga classes. For the weekly massage with Daniella. For the peaceful evenings and beautiful sunsets from our patio. And I think most of all for the warm private swimming pool literally right at our front door. Every day, frequently more than once, we would strip off and step into that pool, lazing and diving and swimming and reveling in the warm water. I still miss that pool. I read many years ago that the body is nourished by being in warm water because that’s where it came from, and the cells remember. I felt healed by that pool.

Every time I mentioned to Don that I’d like to go back to La Manzanilla he said he didn’t want to, that it’s a grubby little town and he didn’t like it. He wanted to go to San Miguel de Allende. San Miguel is a beautiful inland town in the mountains about four hours north of Mexico City. We’d visited for a week from La Manzanilla and had fallen in love with it. It has a large gringo population and a thriving artists’ community. The Centro is a Spanish Colonial World Heritage site. Don wanted less dusty isolated Mexican beach village and more culture. I wanted that swimming pool. But we didn’t talk about it.

I was desperate to be in the heat. During November Vancouver had been colder than usual, and Montreal in December, although surprisingly no colder than Vancouver, was still too cold for me, especially after being in Egypt. I felt the need to bake my bones. Friends in Vancouver warned us that San Miguel in January would be cold but we didn’t believe them. We didn’t want to believe them. We looked online – as low as 7 (44) overnight but mid 20’s (mid70’s) by day. That sounded okay. Not baking, but much warmer than Canada.

At some point during November Don went ahead and found a two-bedroom casa in San Miguel in our price range, ran it by me, and rented it. I simply said yes. I felt that if he was that clear, if his intuition was that strong that San Miguel was the place to be then I had to honour that. I trusted him, as he has trusted me many times in the past. We live by this kind of intuitive clarity, and he was very clear that San Miguel was it. I said to friends in Vancouver that Don chose San Miguel and I let him. It’s a harsh and untruthful way to express it. What I mean is that I knew that in this case it was important I not question his intuition and clarity.

A red-eye from Vancouver to Mexico City. We’ve decided we won’t do any more red-eye flights. It’s too painful. A taxi from the airport to the bus station. A four-hour bus ride to San Miguel. Mexican buses are fabulous. The seats are bigger than airline business class. But we still hardly sleep, just dozing off a little now and then. A taxi from the bus station to our latest home in San Miguel. The owners are there to meet us. Lovely people. She’s Canadian, he’s Mexican. They take about two hours to tell us all about the casa, gas stove, Wi-Fi, clean drinking water, garbage collection, all the little details you need to know about a place. We meet Rufina who will come weekly to clean for us.

Through my brain-dead lack-of-sleep haze this place we are to live in for five months slowly registers. It is so packed with furniture we are literally climbing over it to get around. There are so many things on the walls and on every surface that I can hardly breathe. Everything is brown with dust. The walls are covered in bad art, old peeling family photographs, dusty hats, plates on racks jammed up against one another, a couple of old shot guns. Everything is hung randomly with no thought for its aesthetic connection to the things near it. The curtains are peach coloured and frilly. They are tied in the middle with old scraps of fabric. On the long coffee table there are metal racks displaying some notably uninteresting rocks. There is an old film camera placed for decoration on a pedestal, and there are literally dozens of chachkes everywhere. All covered in brown dust.

And then just before our hosts leave we are told we shouldn’t go out after dark. What!

It didn’t really register until later. The last time we were in San Miguel no one mentioned it was unsafe after dark. I asked what time it got dark. About 6pm. It’s now almost five and we have nothing for dinner nor for breakfast. We head out immediately to a local café where the food is good but the service appalling, buy a few provisions for the morning and get home by dusk.

We unpack. I remove some bricabrac from a shelving unit in the bedroom, wipe the shelves, cover them with paper towel, and arrange my clothes in neat piles. I think the rest of the evening was spent in an Internet and Netflix haze. Don goes to bed and is soundly asleep by about ten o’clock. I go to bed and cry all night. I’m crying because the place I’ve come to live in is filthy and ugly, I’m crying because I’ve been told not to go outside after dark so even though all the doors are double locked I feel unsafe, and I’m mostly crying because I’m grieving for La Manzanilla. I hadn’t realized until that first night in San Miguel how much I had wanted to go back to that place where I’d felt so nourished.

Morning comes eventually. I’ve slept maybe two or three hours. We talk. Don’s first reaction is to see if the casita in La Manzanilla is available and we can just swallow paying an extra month’s rent and go there. I’m immediately clear that is not the solution. For all my desire to go back to that place, and my desire for that warm pool, I know it is not the answer. I know there is something for us in San Miguel. Also for Don to change plans just to make me happy is not a good enough reason. We’re in this together. We have to find a way for us both to be happy.

Two things are resolved this day. We ask about going out after dark. It turns out that our host was just being an overly protective father, and that we are in one of the safest neighbourhoods of San Miguel, that San Miguel is safer than New York City, and probably safer than many other places in the world these days. The second thing is that I say respectfully that I’m very visually sensitive and since this will be our home for five months would it be okay if I put some of the ‘art’ and knickknacks away in the (fortunately large) storage cupboard. Of course! You can do whatever you want!

Don and I have stayed in some pretty funky, down-home, unattractive, and yes, grubby places over the past four and a half years. If it’s for a few days, or even a couple of weeks, I’m fine with it. It’s the thought of living in a place like that for five months that distresses me. When it’s five months it’s not just a place we’re staying. When it’s five months it’s our home.

I get into cleaning and decluttering mode. I remove ninety percent of the ‘decorations’ and stuff them into the cupboard. I rearrange what furniture I can. I see that two of the large chairs are metal. I remove the grubby cushions from them and put the chairs out in the courtyard garden. I see that one of the large chairs in the living room will fit fine in one of the bedrooms. I create space. I replace the coverings on the two couches with alternatives from the bedrooms. With Don’s help I clean everything. And I rearrange things on the walls, saving only a few colourful pieces that I place as best I can on the nails that are already there. There are at least twenty other nails in the walls that now have nothing hung on them. Since they are painted the same colour as the walls they are not too much of an eyesore. Sometime during the day I send out a little prayer asking for help to perceive this place in a more favourable light.

The next morning I wake up and say to Don that I’m just one big walking complaint. Everything is wrong and horrible. I’m cold. It may be 23 outside but this is a stone cold house. Perhaps when it is 30 or 35 outside I will be glad to be living in a cool house, but at the moment it is cold. During the day it is significantly colder inside than it is outside. We have two electric oil heaters that we run all night. During the day we are bundled up in our warmest clothing and I have a blanket wrapped around my legs. I can’t seem to get warm. I didn’t realize how desperately I was craving the heat and how disappointed I am not to have it.

I go about my day doing more cleaning and decluttering. Somewhere in there we go shopping for more provisions. We walk a long way into town to the supermarket and get basic stocks for the kitchen. I reverse the curtains so I don’t have to look at the worst of the frilliness. Frills are not my thing.

Then sometime in these first few days I suddenly accept that I haven’t come to summer. I stay warm by wearing more clothes. It has stopped being a complaint. Just like that I fall into acceptance. And sometime on about the fifth day the thought arises spontaneously I love this place!

One of the reasons Don wanted to come to San Miguel is that I need medical attention and he knew it would be easier to get it here than in La Manzanilla, and he is right. We arrived on a Thursday night and I had an appointment with an English-speaking doctor at noon the following Monday. A doctor in Vancouver had told me that I have osteo-arthritis in my right hip, but both Don and I suspected much more than that. I’ve been having nerve pain down my right leg, aching knees, shin pain and lower back pain. We suspected maybe a bulging or burst disc. But no! X-rays reveal my spine and bones are all fine. I do have mild osteoarthritis in my right hip, but this doctor said maybe it might start to bother me by the time I’m ninety! What I do have is exceptionally tight muscles that have been tight for an extremely long time. This is the cause of the nerve pain. I have been given a course of Vitamin B injections and a course of anti-inflammatories. I’m going to get myself a deep-tissue massage twice a week for the next few months. And in due course will start going to yoga classes three times a week. Hopefully this will be all I’ll need.

It can be really difficult to take care of your health when travelling all the time. We so very badly need these long breaks to get into some healthy routines like regular exercise, and yoga, and preparing our own meals.

It has been a week now. It’s funny, but before we came here I kept having the thought that it would take a week to get here, and so it has proved. A self-fulfilling prophecy perhaps? Or just the way it was going to be anyway.

We have found all the stores we need for food, a laundry close by, the place to go for clean water. We went to an even bigger supermarket to stock up on more basic supplies. We bought a couple of wine glasses and a cheese grater. Our hosts have been extremely helpful with every little thing we’ve needed, and I must say that when we arrived the house may have been dusty, but the sheets and towels were clean, and the bathroom and kitchen clean enough. I’ve put some of the brilliant bougainvillea from the garden in vases in the house. Don went out this afternoon to pick up the laundry and came home with roses. It starts to feel like home.

A peek inside the cupboard at some of what I removed from sight.

I suppose I could live with the naked woman at her ablutions, except that it’s broken, but the suicide – now there’s a depressing image to have in your home.

Our decluttered San Miguel home.

And now we’re both happy to be here. As for San Miguel – we’ll no doubt discover in the next few months what it has in store for us.

What I especially like about this post is your honesty Alison. There is something so refreshing about not sugar coating things. I hear very clearly from you that this is not quite what you had in mind and I respect you immensely for sticking with it. I also appreciate Don for being willing to move to Manzanilla to make you happy. Your happiness is incredibly important and worth everything. A price well above rubies.
There is something about travel that I have noticed in myself but never articulated until reading this and that is an instantaneous negative reaction to an abode. I have never had it for a place per se that I can remember, but I have HAD to leave one of two abodes because the vibes, or the atmosphere, whatever, depressed me. I know this feeling and I don’t like it.
That said, your courtyard is heavenly, the tile work in the house divine, all of the Allende mirrors I adore (I have been eyeing one I want to buy). I love the indoor dining table and the painted cupboard. Maybe just lock up that closet and never open it!
Sending all the best energy to you dear Alison, and to Don. Take good care.

Thanks Cindy. I suppose I could have sugar-coated it all but it wouldn’t have felt good. It sure is not what I had in mind, but I didn’t articulate what I wanted/needed and wasn’t even really clear about that myself until I found I didn’t actually have it. As for my happiness this situation continues to be a real exercise in me actually practicing to choose to be happy anyway, that my happiness is a choice. It’s a good theory, but here I get to practice it.
I have been in places that were so negative energetically I had to leave but they are few and far between. Ugh, and sometimes scary.
And so here I sit in the lovely courtyard in a light breeze, listening to birdsong, and answering comments. It’s all good. Still wearing a thick jacket though 🙂
Alison

I know the feeling of being in a place and not feeling exactly comfortable. I was in a highly recommended place in India last month, and it was sort of OK and others loved it there, but for me, it just didn’t “feel” right. I may have been able to settle in if I’d stayed longer, and I trust you will become more at home in your place (or if not, maybe find yourself in La Manzanilla), as SMA is rather magical. I also know the cheer joy of having a pool at your door. I love the kitchen and the jars, and the coffee table (is that where you’ll write?).

I envy you your place and time in SMA. I love it there. I still remember a conversation I once had with a bakery clerk ( in Spanglish…I speak Spanish enough to get by, but only in present tense), I think near the convent.

Here, most flights I take all leave at like 0200, and I’ve learned to like them better, as I don’t waste daylight on flying. I don’t like trying to sleep like that, but I don’t like losing daylight even more.

What’s a chachkles??

Tight muscles. I know a massage therapist who has actually performed miracles on people with muscle problems, it’s her specialty. One client was told she needed an operation, but my friend cured her with just a few sessions. If you fly her down to SMA (and of course me too for the introductions), she can cure you. Or…you could stop off on your way home to visit her in Minnesota.

The place is certainly feeling much better since I did my makeover on it, and I appreciate all the little lovely bits of it like the Mexican tile work. I do wish I’d taken before photos. It really was heinous. We’re both feeling more settled in now. And we may still go to La Manzanilla for April and May. That pool – I can’t get it out of my head, but first time in SMA – time enough to discover its magic.
I will write at that coffee table, and sitting on my bed, and out in the courtyard like now – wherever I can get comfortable.
Wiki on chachkes, or tchotchke as spelt there – trinkets, bricabrac, disposable tacky decorative items, etc.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tchotchkehttp://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Chachkes
No more red-eyes! I’d rather pay the extra and lose daylight.
This coming week I’m having three massages! Each with a different therapist – trying them all out 🙂
Too bad you can’t come here with your friend.
Alison

So glad you were able to make friends with your home. It looks quite nice, but some of those things in the cupboard – 0h! Also glad you are getting the health issue resolved! Yes – the next few months will reveal why you should be in San Miguel.

Thanks Kay. We’ve made friends with it. I still somehow feel not quite here, but it is a great chance for me to choose to be happy anyway. It has reminded me of something Eckhart Tolle said that I’ve never forgotten – live each moment as if you chose it. I guess on some unconscious level I did. I have three massages booked for next week!
Alison

Love your taking us through your whole process of adjusting. Sometimes it just takes one small thing to help me know I’m supposed to be in a place at that time in my life. When we downsized to an apartment, no one, including us thought we would like it. When first seeing the apartment still in the process of being cleaned and not yet re painted, it was a shock that made my heart sink. But I looked out the window where my computer would be and there was a beautiful bird feeder and in the lavish sprawling shrubbery right outside were 12 vibrant red cardinals. It was all I needed to know it would be all right. And it has been. Not perfect, of course, but where we are supposed to be right now with more good things than bad.
I love traveling with you. Your honesty is refreshing and your ability to find and share the beauty and interest everywhere you go is a gift to us all. Sending peace your way……peace is quiet joy.

Thanks for your kind words Eileen. Those cardinals must have been a wonderful message for you. What a lovely way to be welcomed to a new home that you weren’t sure about. And this is the same for me – for better or worse I know it’s where we are supposed to be right now with more good things than bad. It’s still challenging, but there are things here for us to discover I’m sure. This coming week I have 3 yoga classes, 3 massages, and 3 silent meditation sessions – hopefully that will start to get me back on track.
Sending peace right back to you
Alison

I’m not sure I agree moving is harder than travelling – at least when you’re staying a while there’s more time to find all the things you need. So far we’re doing fine at locating all the services we need, and how to get to them.
Yeah, the suicide and the bathing lady. Shiver. Can’t say I laughed, but I was pretty distraught at the time. There were also plenty of Christian saints in various agonized poses, a nargile pipe, an unframed print shoved behind the speakers, it went on and on. I so wish I’d taken before photos, but I was just so focused on making it bearable that I didn’t think of it. Once I’d removed the worst of it all it became livable. Still cold though.
I’m having three massages this coming week! Never done that before.
A one hour massage is about US$33 or CDN$46 – less than half what we’d pay in Canada.
Alison

Oh is that all it was lol. Yes, there is a lot to be said for intuition and clarity. I don’t mind the nude – except that it’s broken. Yeah the dead guy – hang a sheet over it, in the back of the cupboard.
Alison

Great story! Thanks for sharing — the internal journey is sometimes as interesting as the external. I’m sure the intensity of your feelings was partially attributable to exhaustion. Once you had a little time to rest, you came up with a perfect solution (thanks to cooperative owners). I love the tiles. It really does have its charm!

Once I’d uncovered the place from all the stuff on the walls and surfaces I did discover its charm. There are vignettes of beauty throughout the casa and I focus on those. I agree it was probably worse because of lack of sleep, but even answering all these wonderful comments is helping me affirm the positive in the situation, rather than letting the mind continue to be dissatisfied just because. Each day I get grounded here a little more. I agree – the inner journey is sometimes, maybe often, as interesting as the outer.
Alison

Oh, dear! In so many ways. It is hard to arrive and immediately feel good about a place, especially one with that “art”! It always takes me at least a day and sometimes more to clear out my expectations and accept the reality of a place. I just underwent this adjustment myself here in Nicaragua, although my stay is enormously shorter than yours. The proliferation of stuff would have driven me nuts, and I am going to use your “visually sensitive” explanation the very next time I move stuff out or around, which I do with regularity! Wishing you all good things in the coming weeks!

I must admit I felt good about the casita in La Manzanilla immediately – it’s a very beautiful space, and of course the pool. This one has taken little getting used to, chuckle. The proliferation of stuff, as you put it, was suffocating, and ugly. Did you like that? The visually sensitive bit? I felt quite inspired! Hope things are okay for you now in Nicaragua. I feel your pain. Things here get better every day.
Alison

Hilarious (well, obviously not for you at the start)! I love your honesty and humour. The de-cluttered place looks pretty darn nice (except for that naked woman). I hope you’ll enjoy it there and I look forward to reading about your discoveries in SMA.

Thanks Caroline. Well yeah, not hilarious. It was just so over the top! I’ve never seen anything quite like it. Thank goodness for that storage cupboard (where that naked woman resides with all the other unattractive clutter) otherwise I don’t know what I’d have done. Now it starts to feel like home, but it’s still darn cold inside. I can see I’ll be sitting out in that courtyard quite a bit during the day. I’ll post bits and pieces about SMA from time to time, but first I really want to get back to posts about Turkey, Jordan and Egypt.
Alison

Hey Alison,
I hope it turns out to be really good, and that your muscles can relax and settle down. I have known people who have lived there and loved it. My husband did some work down there on the Rio Laja. He went a couple times a year for 5 years, working with non profits on community or Ejidos lands. He loved it. I’ve heard stories of great community celebrations and holidays. I hope it turns out to be great. I also hope that you can find some hot or warm water to soak in.
It really does look nice, since you decluttered. 🙂
Blessings,
Mary

Thanks Mary. I’m actually liking our home now, except that it’s still cold. Sitting in the courtyard is nice though. As for SMA I’m sure we’ll discover its charms. We’ve already been to a festival for Allende’s birthday that had some really spectacular folk dancing. I have three massages booked for next week and an osteopath to contact so I’m feeling pretty hopeful re health issues. Haven’t found any hot water to soak in yet 😦
Blessings, Alison

Thanks kismac. I looked at your blog – you’re FSU kismac! Same photo on your latest post as I saw on FB. It’s a small world, especially online 🙂
Maybe one day we’ll meet in person at a competition. That would be great.
Decluttered this home in SMA will do just fine. I wish I’d taken ‘before’ photos – it was half the story and I didn’t think to record it 😦
I’m getting all kinds of massage and yoga lined up plus seeing an osteopath so I’m feeling hopeful now.
Alison
PS I’ve been slow replying to comments due to Canadians and US Nats. So much skating so little time.

That tale reminds me of me when I have one vision of what I want and someone serves me up something really not what I want. I have to take a breath and find the way to the good. Looks like you did a splendid job of making it nice.
If you’d like to try to skype, I can try to teach you some of the joint release work I do — I’m thinking at least the ankles, knees and hips — possibly also spine and shoulders… all interrelated… yogaleigh @ earthlink dot net
I haven’t actually trained a computer on myself and attempted to teach movements so this would be an experiment…

You described it exactly – I wanted something (that I hadn’t even really articulated to myself) and was served up something not at all what I wanted. It’s been a journey of letting go that’s for sure, and I get more and more settled here every day.
Thanks for your wonderful offer. I’d love to learn some joint release work. I’m open to whatever will get me pain free and fully mobile again. I’ll send you a Skype request. Thank you!
Alison

Ah, now I see what you meant about settling-in pains. It’s wonderful, though, to follow Don’s and your thought processes throughout the whole thing. I think sometimes we go through things to be able to reaffirm and remind us of what really matters to us. x

Thanks SGMT. It’s been a journey that’s for sure, and I agree, these kinds of situations do get me looking at what’s really important. Slowly moving from resistance to acceptance. This house will never be warm no matter how much I may wish it, so I find the best ways I can to deal with it and focus on all I have to be grateful for. It’s a choice right? And this is my chance to really practice it.
Alison

Your post is perfectly timed as we are in the process of rental hunting here in Lagos, PT, for a more comfortable place to live in and grow some temporary roots. It gets difficult to describe the concept of “home” when traveling full-time and that it involves taking someone’s not-so-impeccable space for a short time and making it feel like a place you want to return to for sanctuary (and warmth!) versus run from. “Home” doesn’t have to be perfect but DOABLE gets tiring too. I can also relate to the adjustment period and the process of making a town your own – that “click” when you head out the door and realize that you have favorite places to return to, markets where you know the layout and vendors who you love to exchange smiles with. I’m so glad that you are feeling “at home” once again in your clean, less cluttered and cheerful space and can focus on establishing some routines. Here’s to “home” whatever it means! Anita P.S. I spied a printer in your clutter closet – if that thing works it could be worth it’s weight in gold in Mexico! 🙂

Home certainly has been a moveable feast for us for a long time now. I’m usually very adaptable, and can feel at home wherever I am, but it definitely gets more challenging when it’s long term. I’ve made this little casa livable, at least visually, and functionally it’s fine except the cold. I’m still trying to come to terms with the fact that I live in a cold house. For me so far SMA is a nice town where I can get all kinds of healing modalities at less than half what I’d pay in Canada. I miss the connection to nature. Oh and that pool of course. Don is quite happy here. We still talk of the possibility of going to La Manazanilla for April and May. Only thing is those are the best months in SMA. Never before have we had this kind of uncertainty about where to live. So we’ll see what unfolds. I’ve always found that certainty has its own time in presenting itself.
I hope you find what you’re looking for in Lagos, that perfect space that you can get to feel is home.
Alison

Thank goodness for a positive attitude (and outcome 🙂 ) I hate being cold and miserable, and someone else’s clutter is a nightmare, but you’ve made the best of it. Good for you! Just look at that patio radiating warmth. 🙂

Thanks Jo, though I must admit the positive attitude fluctuates. I do my best. I’m sitting outside in the lovely courtyard. I like the way the casa looks now I’ve decluttered, at least enough that I can live with it and appreciate all the little vignettes of beauty. I’m still not reconciled to living in a cold house. Mornings are worst. I’m such a wimp 🙂
Alison

Alison, I love your honesty and how articulate you are at describing your feelings and thoughts. Like you I prefer a more minimalist space and your de clutter has transformed the casita into a more visually appealing and confortable place. I am glad that you are already at peace with your new home and falling in love with SMA. Since I have never been there I am looking forward to learn more about this place.

Thanks so much Gilda. I certainly am much more comfortable here now I’ve made the place a bit more attractive. And we’ve been out after dark several times and it’s been quite safe so that’s definitely a plus. Having to be indoors every night by 6 would probably have been a deal breaker. We wouldn’t want to live in a place like that for sure. I’m still not reconciled to living in a cold house, but maybe I’ll get used to it. The days are lovely – hot even. Bit by bit we discover SMA, though at this stage it’s mostly been massages, yoga, meditation, Pilates and the organic market. That alone should give you some idea of the kind of town it is. And it’s certainly a beautiful city with its Spanish Colonial orange and ochre architecture. I absolutely fell in love with it when we visited here three years ago – it’s really a gorgeous place, but living here of course means a whole bunch of other things need to be considered.
Alison

Loved your post Alison. It’s -10 degrees here in Nova Scotia which is far too cold for us so we appreciated your desire for warmth. You started a great discussion between us about how to choose a destination, especially for a longer stay like yours. We both hope that you continue to heal and that both of you find peace and inspiration over the next few months.

Thanks so much. Interesting that this post helped initiate a discussion for you about long-stay choices. It certainly started a discussion for us lol!
I do think we’ll find healing opportunities here, if nothing else. And when we look at all the things on in town, there seems to be plenty else. I’m looking forward to the unfolding of the next few months.
Alison

You did an excellent job of beautifying that place!! I would do the same…
Accommodation and environment (and food) are key factors for me and are the two things that could ruin or lift off a traveling experience!

Thanks pelly. It was really necessary for me to do what I could to make the place more attractive and livable. It’s still cold but at least no longer visually offensive 🙂
And we’ve been making ourselves some great meals. That’s one of the good things about living in a cosmopolitan town – so many good food choices available.
Alison

Oh very well done, both of you. It’s awful when you think you’ve come to stay in the wrong place, but what transformations you have made – inside and out. Brilliant. Wishing you both a happy fruitful sojourn and good nurturing of the arthritis problems.

Thanks so much Tish. We just worked through what we needed to work through, both inside and out. And to be honest we still are. My equanimity with being here is not yet stable 🙂 Still fighting living in a cold house, but I imagine I’ll adjust eventually, and we’re definitely finding all the healing practitioners we need. We’ve been talking a lot about what each of us likes/dislikes about SMA and La Manzanilla. It’s the first time we’ve wanted to be in different places – an interesting conundrum and much food for thought and compromise.
Alison

It’s refreshing to hear the other side of the story – so often we talk about things working out, but not the trying details of how we got there. I’m sending my wishes for continued recovery (have you ever tried qi gong, like yoga but more medical – my definition, not necessarily accurate?) Love the photos – it’s a place I could live in, too.

Thanks Marsha. Ah yes, the trying details of travel. I feel so blessed that Don and I communicate well enough to work our way through the difficult situations – and still like each other 🙂
I haven’t tried qi gong – I’ll look into it. SMA being the kind of town it is I bet there’s some happening here.
Alison

I can totally get your initial feelings, I would’ve felt the same way even though I’m from Mexico City. I’m glad you were able to get better news and move past the negative parts. Your home looks very nice i must say. I love the little dining area and of course the patio area, and all the tile.

Oh yes, my initial feelings were of being scared and horrified. Now I think our home is lovely. Next step is to just get it warm! Apart from that things are starting to go well here. It really is a beautiful town with much to offer.
Alison
PS we were in Mexico City for a week about three years ago and loved it!

Just wondering if u have already posted abt your trip to turkey jordan and Egypt with miles and points. I am planning for dec 2016 and looking for your recommendations on the itenary flight routes and the airlines used tours recommendations etc… thank you

So happy you were happy to make it a comfortable home! I am so excited you are in SMA! We will be there for six weeks in March and April. It’s our first time to visit. You encouraged me so much when we were selling our home and getting rid of things a couple of years ago so we could begin our life of travel! We would to love to get to meet you and Don!

Note to self: proofread before hitting send!
So happy you were ABLE to make it a comfortable home!
I plead exhaustion as we’ve been driving all day on a 14 hour road trip that somehow sounded reasonable to do in one day when we left this morning!

Thanks Kaye. Yes, we did make it a comfortable home. I have no reason to complain (except that it’s still cold – I’m such a wimp).
You drove 14 hours in a day! Heroic!
We’d love to meet you. Call us when you arrive. I’ll email you our local numbers. There is still a possibility we’ll go to La Manzanilla for April and May so we’d better get together in March. Looking forward to meeting you.
Alison

Alison, you are the last person I’d ever think of as a wimp! The things you have done! Oh my! I have to be comfortable myself! The place we stay in has a definite impact on how I feel about a city also! I need it to be clean and pretty and a good temperature! Is that asking too much? Haha!
We are off to the Dominican Republic on Saturday to meet our sons and their families for 9 days and then Larry and I are going to lounge on the beach for the rest of February before we head to SMA. So excited about meeting you and Don! Looking forward to being there!

I really appreciate your bravery and honesty to show and tell us your thoughts and initial despair. Even though you didn’t take before photos just showing all the junk you weeded out and put in the cupboard gives a good idea as to how cluttered the place was. I like minimalist decoration and the after photos show a very comfortable, nicely arranged décor. I do hope you took that suicide painting down, I cannot even imagine why anyone would want to put that on the wall. I love the courtyard/patio area and think I would spend a lot of time there. Best wishes with your health rehabilitation, I’m sure the massages and yoga will go a long way to solving the problem

Thanks pommepal. I guess I don’t like to sugarcoat travel and being nomadic. Sometimes it’s challenging. Oh the stuff that was cluttering this place! It was horrific. Now it feels comfortable. As for the suicide – it’s well hidden somewhere in the piles in the storage cupboard. The courtyard is lovely, and the days are mostly warm and sunny, and this week I have lined up three silent meditation sessions, three massages, and three yoga classes. I’m very interested to see how I feel after that!
Alison

It sounds as though you have taken a lemon and made lemonade Alison. I’m sure your time there, with your positive outlook, and being proactive, the time will fly by. I look forward to following your journey and discoveries. How is Don settling in?

Thanks Curt. I like the way it looks now, and I’m slowly adjusting to being here. I think I will come to love it. It was just such a shock initially, and so not what I wanted without even knowing it. Don and I have been having a lot of discussions about how to choose long-stay places, chuckle 🙂
Alison

I haven’t read all the other comments so I don’t know if anyone else mentioned it, but maybe see if there is a Reiki practitioner thereabouts. The muscles in my legs get very tight and I have them massaged, but I like to have Reiki because it relaxes me and rebalances me. Whatever is troubling you might not have an entirely physical cause.
I also use crystals to rebalance my vibrations and have had acupuncture in the past too.

Don’s a Reiki practitioner so I get fairly frequent treatments right at home that are focused on the problem areas. The first massage I had here included some Reiki as well. I’ve had full body Reiki treatments in the past, quite a long time ago now actually, and I do think something like that might also help. I’ll look into it. I always look first at the psycho-emotional cause of dis-ease. Believe me I’ve been delving deep into this one a while now. It’s very much to do with moving forward in life, which we seem to do a lot these days. Chuckle.
Thanks for your kind thoughts, Danny.
Alison

Yes, we’re there now. And thanks for pointing out the date! I mean 2016 of course. Haven’t quite caught up with the new year yet. SMA is a wonderful town. I still want to go back to La Manzanilla for all the reasons I mentioned, and we possibly will for April and May, but for now we making the most of SMA as a time to rest and get healthy again.
Alison

Oh….how wonderful!!!! SO you will be there for the next few months? Sounds dreamy Alison! I can’t wait to hear more about it. I’ve always wanted to go there so I’ll be really looking forward to your posts!

Oh, Alison, do I understand the crying brought on by discomfort! I remember sobbing for hours once at a fancy Mexican resort because I couldn’t stand the idea that forests were destroyed to create it. I almost left! I also remember having a week of panic attacks in Hawaii (of all places, a tropical paradise!) because just when I thought the the shower mildew was my last straw, I found gecko poop on my pillow.

Home isn’t just a place; it’s a state of being. Having everything covered in brown dirt is symbolic of so much. The ritual of cleansing the space (in which you both took part) has a healing quality all its own: wiping away the past, the space becomes yours. Good for you for advocating for less stuff and finding a home underneath it all.

That’s the funny thing about following one’s intuition (or that of one’s spouse). Sometimes we end up experiencing exactly what we need, if not necessarily what we want. That doesn’t mean “take your lumps,” by the way. In following intuition, we’re guided to something greater than we could have planned, even with the best of research.

Thanks for your understanding Jen. I’ve been looking at the symbolism of this whole experience. Haven’t come up with and real clarity yet, but continue determined to focus on what this home and SMA have to offer rather than being in resistance to it all. I’m trusting that the meditation/yoga/massages/doctors and rest will bring the healing I need, and yes, we have found a home under the brown dirt, and it becomes a comfortable place to be. If nothing else I have found what I need here in healing modalities at livable prices, which would not have been the case in La Manzanilla. This may be all that comes for me in SMA, and if so then that is quite enough. And maybe there will be much more. To be discovered.
I think I may have reacted in the same way to the gecko poop!
Alison ❤

LOL, I am currently sitting in Vancouver trying to find a cheap flight to Mexico City so I can come up to San Miguel de Allende! I had no idea that is where you have landed. If I make it we really should meet up for a coffee. Glad it is smoothing out for you, I know what it is like to ache for the sun.

I hope you make it here. We’re here definitely until the end of March. We may end up going to La Manzanilla for April/May – haven’t decided for sure yet. Email us as soon as you know when you’ll be here. Too funny that we’ll probably end up getting together in SMA and not in Van.
Alison

I just discovered your blog and I’m so excited to read more about your adventures and look at all your awesome photos! I feel so drawn to you and your story, seeing so many similarities.

My hubby and I are Canadian, 65, 90% retired, and considering (dreaming and scheming!) the next step in our lives. I was hit square in the heart with your statement, “We could have a home or we could have a life.” That is so VERY true! That’s where we are stuck: we live in a sweet little built-by-hand house on 14 acres with built-by-hand outbuildings, a 22 ft boat, and a Casita trailer……and too much stuff of course! We’ve planted hundreds of trees, bushes, flowers, veggies, berries. We love our modest but satisfying paradise. We’ve put our heart and soul into this home.

EXCEPT…….we both are restless. And we see the years, the years with health and fitness, counting down. The time really has to be NOW if we want to have a more adventurous life.

How do we decide? Home or away? A compromise between the two? Can we have some of each because we know we can’t have all of both?

So much to think about and talk about. Meanwhile I’m going to spend some fun hours reading your blog and being inspired and excited. Thank you so much for sharing your life.

Hi Hazel, nice to meet you. Your home sounds gorgeous, and full of *you* – so much of yourselves in the creation of it – so I can see how it would be hard to part with it. We had a simple city condo. I had put a lot of hours into decorating it over the years but nothing like what you have created. Maybe find a way to have some of each? Maybe sublet for a year, or part of each year, or . . . . .
Thank you for your heartfelt compliments. It means a lot to me. I hope you enjoy reading more of the blog.
Belssings, Alison

Alison, I have to say I love this post because as a fellow nomadic traveler living sequentially in different places, wow can I relate! The feeling of arriving and dealing with the let down, the expectations, the sometimes sucky reality. And then…with creativity, time, readjustments….things always have a way of working out.

You did a masterful de cluttering job. Looks very cute now. Amazing how physical clutter impacts the brain, the mood.

I think you forgot me on your email list, but I cam pe to find where you guys are at anyhow.

Enjoy Mexico and stay warm. We head back to Chicago after a few months in Asia and I am dreading the cold, even though we missed a big chunk of it.

Thanks Peta. I’m sure you do relate! It’s quite good enough now as our home for a while – lemonade from lemons. And we’re settling into SMA. For me it’s one of those places where I might not get what I want (i.e. that house and pool by the sea) but I am getting what I need – some really fabulous healers.
I didn’t actually send out an email for this one. It will be included in the next email. I’ll double check that you’re on the list. Oooooo Chicago will be chilly!
Alison

Reading this piece, I kept laughing to myself… where are the f@#$%’n pictures!? Ha! You’re honest story-telling carried the day, Alison, to be sure. But I was glad we at least got to see the neatly stacked collection of what-not’s behind the door you’ve probably duct-taped shut, or locked before flinging the key down the drain.

I hope you have a lovely time there, and find the healing you require. It was great to get a different sense of your travels– to see the places that are transformed into home, and to hear about the process of making them yours. It’s amazing how little things set us off– to think how much of your difficult night was based on a quickly formed opinion that the location was unsafe… And how quickly this feeling can change… We’re so impressionable, we humans. So immersed in one another’s ideas…

Oh I so wish I’d thought to take before pictures! Worth a thousand words and all that. But I was so distraught I didn’t even think of it.
So ridiculous that he said not to go out after dark. And equally ridiculous that I took it to heart – yes we are very impressionable, well I am anyway.
We are feeling more at home, and finding the healers we need. For Don it’s pilates and craniosacral, for me an intuitive healer, massage, and a cranio-osteopath. And rest. More than anything rest.
much love and thanks, Alison

Thanks Shirley. Yeah, funny I suppose, but I was not laughing at the time. I was one big walking complaint! It feels fine now. I won’t go so far as to say absolutely wonderful, but certainly livable, and bit by bit we get to know SMA and its charms. We go to movies in tiny theatres seating 25, and we’ve both found some amazing healers so we’re in the right place.
Alison

Your honesty continues to amaze me. I love reading about your emotional journeys, especially when they result in spontaneous, unexpected thoughts like “I love this place!” Adapting is such a huge part of travel. Happy to hear you’ve found a way to feel at home.

Thanks Kelly. Right from the beginning I made a commitment to write about the inner journey – it’s such an important part of it. I still haven’t quite reconciled myself to how cold it is here, but we’ve both found some amazing healers, and we’re resting a lot which is much needed. I think adaptability is my middle name lol. Lemonade from lemons – anything else is bound to be more painful.
We will get together in the summer!
Alison

STOP THE PRESSES! I’m just going back through posts and catching up…..you are in San Miguel? Now? For five months? I leave in just about two weeks, March 1st, for San Miguel! I’ll be volunteering at Casa de los Angeles for one month. The volunteer duties are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and then weekends are free. I cannot believe that I may actually be able to meet you. Hope we can make some plans.

“The next morning I wake up and say to Don that I’m just one big walking complaint” …
Dear Alison, I could not help but laugh when I read the sentence. Oh.. how I miss both of you. I am glad that you finally manage to find a good place to stay, but, don’t forget that Anna and I are still waiting for your visiting to Taiwan.
Hope to meet you soon.

Hi Kenny. Chuckle. I suppose it is pretty funny. We miss you guys too, and do not think we have forgotten you, or that we have forgotten visiting. We know that sometime in the future there will be a Hong Kong/Taiwan/Japan/China trip. We just haven’t decided quite when yet. But soon!
Alison

Alison,
You did a fantastic job of de-cluttering (I can tell by the plethora of things stacked in the cupboards)! it looks very nice now. I am glad there is nothing seriously wrong with your health.. I have nerve pain from tight muscles also, and am taking B vitamins with extra B12 (the active form of b12 –methylcobalamin).

Thanks Mary. It is quite livable now. I do wish I’d thought to take ‘before’ pictures! The doctor here put me immediately on a five-day course of daily injections of vitamin B but unfortunately it didn’t make all that much difference. I’ll definitely look into getting some B12 – perhaps taking it on a regular basis will help. I’ve also seen/am seeing a cranio-osteopath and an energy healer, as well as weekly massage. All seem to be helping. I’m feeling hopeful now that I can turn it around. I’m looking forward to be able to go hiking again!
Alison

Good job on the decluttering Alison and Don! That closet made made me laugh. We had a very dated condo with a nautical theme in Ponce Inlet, FL the year before last. Within a few days, my husband had stashed nicknacks, photos, pictures and other junk in dresser drawers, closets, and under the bed. We moved furniture around to create space. It was a chilly, windy Jan. and Feb. The condo was on the beach, but the balcony was too cold to enjoy until late Feb. We did take long, daily walks on the beach and bike rides. My question is, do you feel you must replace all the clutter you removed and stashed in the closet, in order to get your deposit back? My husband didin’t, but I did, so guess who completed that task before departing???😉
I have been following your Blog for about 2 yrs. Love it and your photos! Glad you are getting help with body aches. Three massages a week sound heavenly!

Thanks so much Sharon. I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying the blog. I’m no longer having three massages a week, but I have now progressed to hiking up a steep hill behind the house most days, Pilates and stretching every morning, and walks on the beach. Not completely pain free yet, but much improved.
I’m not sure what I’d have done in your situation in Florida. I think I’d probably have done what you did and put everything back where it was. In our case we’d gotten permission to declutter and put things in the huge closet. The during the time we were there every time our airb&b host came over to sweep the courtyard, take the garbage, whatever, he would leave with an armful of stuff from the closet, so there never was any question of putting it back. We often housesit and of course return anything we’ve moved back to its original place.
Alison